MADISON, Wis. -- Halloween in Madison didn't live up to its sometimes infamous reputation Friday night and early Saturday morning as the holiday remained relatively quiet with authorities reporting a few dozen arrests.

In year's past, the sight of costumed revelers wandering the city's downtown sometimes got out of hand and improvised street parties turned into small-scale riots, leading to arrests, property damage and hefty costs for the city and police.

That wasn't the case this year despite unseasonably warm temperatures for the last day of October. Authorities said that by 3 a.m., there were approximately 45 arrests in the downtown area, WISC-TV reported.

Police had made preparations for a large crowd on Friday night, enlisting 300 officers to monitor activities. They also asked officers to stay late on Friday night as they kept tabs on the action.

The news likely comes as a relief to city leaders and event organizers for Freakfest, the city-approved Halloween bash held on State Street, set to begin at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

With last-minute preparations for Freakfest continuing, organizers said that they thought that the un-autumn-like weather Friday could bring more people than usual out to State Street.

"I'm sure there's going to be a good-sized crowd on State Street, especially with weather like this, but I think there are still going to be people rolling in (Saturday), and Saturday is going to be the larger crowd," said Dave Maynard, of Frank Productions, the entertainment organizer for Freakfest.

Maynard said that Freakfest ticket sales are up as compared with this time last year. They said that they think most sales will take place Saturday night.

"It's gone very, very smoothly for us so far. Everyone's very prepared for the event Saturday night. I think we're just really excited about another 50,000 people on State Street enjoying themselves," Maynard said.

Authorities said that another 300 officers will be on hand on Saturday night.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.